The immune system produces cytokines and other humoral factors to protect the host when threatened by inflammatory agents, microbial invasion, or injury. In most cases this complex defence network successfully restores normal homeostasis, but at other times the immunological mediators may actually prove deleterious to the host. Some examples of immune disease and immune system-mediated injury have been extensively investigated including anaphylactic shock, autoimmune disease, and immune complex disorders.
Recent advances in humoral and cellular immunology, molecular biology and pathology have influenced current thinking about auto-immunity being a component of immune-mediated disease. These advances have increased our understanding of the basic aspects of antibody, B-cell, and T-cell diversity, the generation of innate (effected by monocytes, macrophages, granulocytes, natural killer cells, mast cells, γδ T cells, complement, acute phase proteins, and such) and adaptive (T and B cells and antibodies) or cellular and humoral immune responses and their interdependence, the mechanisms of (self)-tolerance induction and the means by which immunological reactivity develops against auto-antigenic constituents.
Since 1900, the central dogma of immunology has been that the immune system does not normally react to self. However, it has recently become apparent that auto-immune responses are not as rare as once thought and that not all auto-immune responses are harmful; some responses play a distinct role in mediating the immune response in general. For example, certain forms of auto-immune response such as recognition of cell surface antigens encoded by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and of anti-idiotypic responses against self idiotypes are important, indeed essential, for the diversification and normal functioning of the intact immune system.
Apparently, an intricate system of checks and balances is maintained between various subsets of cells (i.e. T-cells) of the immune system, thereby providing the individual with an immune system capable of coping with foreign invaders. In that sense, auto-immunity plays a regulating role in the immune system.
However, it is now also recognised that an abnormal auto-immune response is sometimes a primary cause and at other times a secondary contributor to many human and animal diseases. Types of auto-immune disease frequently overlap, and more than one auto-immune disorder tends to occur in the same individual, especially in those with auto-immune endocrinopathies. Auto-immune syndromes may be mediated with lymphoid hyperplasia, malignant lymphocytic or plasma cell proliferation and immunodeficiency disorders such as hypogammaglobulinaemie, selective Ig deficiencies and complement component deficiencies.
Auto-immune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, post-partum thyroid dysfunction, auto-immune thromocytopenia, to name a few, are characterised by auto-immune responses, for example directed against widely distributed self-antigenic determinants, or directed against organ- or tissue specific antigens. Such disease may follow abnormal immune responses against only one antigenic target, or against many self antigens. In many instances, it is not clear whether auto-immune responses are directed against unmodified self-antigens or self-antigens that have been modified (or resemble) any of numerous agents such as viruses, bacterial antigens and haptenic groups.
There is as yet no established unifying concept to explain the origin and pathogenesis of the various auto-immune disorders. Studies in experimental animals support the notion that auto-immune diseases may result from a wide spectrum of genetic and immunological abnormalities which differ from one individual to another and may express themselves early or late in life depending on the presence or absence of many superimposed exogenous (viruses, bacteria) or endogenous (hormones, cytokines, abnormal genes) accelerating factors.
It is evident that similar checks and balances that keep primary auto-immune disease at bay are also compromised in immune mediated disorders, such as allergy (asthma), acute inflammatory disease such as sepsis or septic shock, chronic inflammatory disease (i.e rheumatic disease, Sjögrens syndrome, multiple sclerosis), transplantation-related immune responses (graft-versus-host-disease, post-transfusion thrombocytopenia), and many others wherein the responsible antigens (at least initially) may not be self-antigens but wherein the immune response to said antigen is in principle not wanted and detrimental to the individual. Sepsis is a syndrome in which immune mediators, induced by for example microbial invasion, injury or through other factors, induce an acute state of inflammation which leads to abnormal homeostasis, organ damage and eventually to lethal shock. Sepsis refers to a systemic response to serious infection. Patients with sepsis usually manifest fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, leukocytosis, and a localised site of infection. Microbiologic cultures from blood or the infection site are frequently, though not invariably, positive. When this syndrome results in hypotension or multiple organ system failure (MOSF), the condition is called sepsis or septic shock. Initially, micro-organisms proliferate at a nidus of infection. The organisms may invade the bloodstream, resulting in positive blood cultures, or might grow locally and release a variety of substances into the bloodstream. Such substances, when of pathogenic nature are grouped into two basic categories: endotoxins and exotoxins. Endotoxins typically consist of structural components of the micro-organisms, such as teichoic acid antigens from staphylococci or endotoxins from gram-negative organisms μlike LPS). Exotoxins (e.g., toxic shock syndrome toxin-1, or staphlococcal enterotoxin A, B or C) are synthesised and directly released by the micro-organisms.
As suggested by their name, both of these types of bacterial toxins have pathogenic effects, stimulating the release of a large number of endogenous host-derived immunological mediators from plasma protein precursors or cells (monocytes/macrophages, endothelial cells, neutrophils, T cells, and others).
It is in fact generally these immunological mediators which cause the tissue and organ damage associated with sepsis or septic shock. Some of these effects stem from direct mediator-induced injury to organs. However, a portion of shock-associated-organ dysfunction is probably due to mediator-induced abnormalities in vasculature, resulting in abnormalities of systemic and regional blood flow, causing refractory hypotension or MOSF (Bennett et al.).
The non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse is a model for auto-immune disease, in this case insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) which main clinical feature is elevated blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia). Said elevated blood glucose level is caused by auto-immune destruction of insulin-producing β cells in the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas (Bach et al. 1991, Atkinson et al. 1994). This is accompanied by a massive cellular infiltration surrounding and penetrating the islets (insulitis) composed of a heterogeneous mixture of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells (O'Reilly et al. 1991).
The NOD mouse represents a model in which auto-immunity against beta-cells is the primary event in the development of IDDM. Diabetogenesis is mediated through a multifactorial interaction between a unique MHC class II gene and multiple, unlinked, genetic loci, as in the human disease Moreover, the NOD mouse demonstrates beautifully the critical interaction between heredity and environment, and between primary and secondary auto-immunity, its clinical manifestation is for example depending on various external conditions, most importantly of the micro-organism load of the environment in which the NOD mouse is housed.
As for auto-immunity demonstrable in NOD mice, most antigen-specific antibodies and T-cell responses are measured after these antigens were detected as self-antigens in diabetic patients. Understanding the role these auto-antigens play in NOD diabetes may further allow to distinguish between pathogenic auto-antigens and auto-immunity that is an epiphenomenon.
In general, T lymphocytes play a pivotal role in initiating the immune mediated disease process (Sempe et al. 1991, Miyazaki et al. 1985, Harada et al. 1986, Makino et al. 1986). CD4+ T-cells can be separated into at least two major subsets Th1 and Th2. Activated Th1 cells secrete IFN-γ and TNF-α, while Th2 cells produce IL-4, IL-S and IL-10. Th1 cells are critically involved in the generation of effective cellular immunity, whereas Th2 cells are instrumental in the generation of humoral and mucosal immunity and allergy, including the activation of eosinophils and mast cells and the production of IgE (Abbas et al. 1996). A number of studies have now correlated diabetes in mice and human with Th1 phenotype development (Liblau et al. 1995, Katz et al. 1995). On the other hand, Th2 T cells are shown to be relatively innocuous. Some have even speculated that Th2 T cells in fact, may be protective. Katz et al. have shown that the ability of CD4+ T cells to transfer diabetes to naïve recipients resided not with the antigen specificity recognised by the TCR per se, but with the phenotypic nature of the T cell response. Strongly polarised Th1 T cells transferred disease into NOD neonatal mice, while Th2 T cells did not, despite being activated and bearing the same TCR as the diabetogenic Th1 T cell population. Moreover, upon co-transfer, Th2 T cells could not ameliorate the Th1-induced diabetes, even when Th2 cells were co-transferred in 10-fold excess (Pakala et al. 1997).
The incidence of sepsis or septic shock has been increasing since the 1930's, and all recent evidence suggests that this rise will continue. The reasons for this increasing incidence are many: increased use of invasive devices such as intravascular catheters, widespread use of cytotoxic and immunosuppressive drug therapies for cancer and transplantation, increased longevity of patients with cancer and diabetes who are prone to develop sepsis, and an increase in infections due to antibiotic-resistant organisms. Sepsis or septic shock is the most common cause of death in intensive care units, and it is the thirteenth most common cause of death in the United States. The precise incidence of the disease is not known because it is not reportable; however, a reasonable annual estimate for the United States is 400,000 bouts of sepsis, 200,000 cases of septic shock, and 100,000 deaths from this disease.
Various micro-organisms, such as Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as fungi, can cause sepsis and septic shock. Certain viruses and rickettsiae probably can produce a similar syndrome. Compared with Gram-positive organisms, Gram-negative bacteria are somewhat more likely to produce sepsis or septic shock. Any site of infection can result in sepsis or septic shock. Frequent causes of sepsis are pyelonephritis, pneumonia, peritonitis, cholangitis, cellulitis, or meningitis. Many of these infections are nosocomial, occurring in patients hospitalised for other medical problems. In patients with normal host defences, a site of infection is identified in most patients. However, in neutropenic patients, a clinical infection site is found in less than half of septic patients, probably because small, clinically inapparent infectious in skin or bowel can lead to bloodstream invasion in the absence of adequate circulating neutrophils. Clearly there is a need to protect against sepsis or septic shock in patients running such risks.
Recently, considerable effort has been directed toward identifying septic patients early in their clinical course, when therapies are most likely to be effective. Definitions have incorporated manifestations of the systemic response to infection (fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, and leukocytosis) along with evidence of organ system dysfunction (cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, hepatic, central nervous system, hematologic, or metabolic abnormalities). The most recent definitions use the term systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) emphasising that sepsis is one example of the body's immunologically-mediated inflammatory responses that can be triggered not only by infections but also by noninfectious disorders, such as trauma and pancreatitis (for interrelationships among systemic inflammatory response (SIRS), sepsis, and infection, see Crit. Care Med. 20:864, 1992; For a review of pathogenic sequences of the events in sepsis or septic shock see N Engl J Med 328:1471, 1993).
Toxic shock syndrome toxin (TSST-1) represents the most clinically relevant exotoxin, identified as being the causative agent in over 90% of toxic shock syndrome cases (where toxic shock is defined as sepsis or septic shock caused by super-antigenic exotoxins). Super antigens differ from “regular” antigens in that they require no cellular processing before being displayed on a MHC molecule. Instead they bind to a semi-conserved region on the exterior of the TCR and cause false “recognition” of self antigens displayed on MHC class II (Perkins et al.; Huber et al. 1993). This results in “false” activation of both the T cell and APC leading to proliferation, activation of effector functions and cytokine secretion. Due to the superantigen's polyclonal activation of T cells, a systemic wide shock results due to excessive inflammatory cytokine release. (Huber et al. 1993, Miethke et al. 1992).
The inflammatory cytokines involved in sepsis are similar. These immunological mediators are tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), nitric oxide (Nox) and interleukin 1 (IL-1), which are massively released by monocytes, macrophages and other leukocytes in response to bacterial toxins (Bennett et al., Gutierrez-Ramos et al 1997). The release of TNF and other endogenous mediators may lead to several patho-physiological reactions in sepsis, such as fever, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, hemodynamic changes, disseminated intravascular coagulation, as well as leukocyte infiltration and inflammation in various organs, all of which may ultimately lead to death. TNF also causes endothelial cells to express adhesion receptors (selecting) and can activate neutrophils to express ligands for these receptors which help neutrophils to adhere with endothelial cell surface for adherence, margination, and migration into tissue inflammatory foci (Bennett et al.). Blocking the adhesion process with monoclonal antibodies prevents tissue injury and improves survival in certain animal models of sepsis or septic shock (Bennett et al.).
These findings, both with auto-immune disease, as well as with acute and chronic inflammatory disease, underwrite the postulated existence of cells regulating the balance between activated Th-sub-populations. Possible disturbances in this balance that are induced by altered reactivity of such regulatory T cell populations can cause immune-mediated diseases, which results in absence or over-production of certain critically important cytokines (O'Garra et al. 1997). These Th-sub-populations are potential targets for pharmacological regulation of immune responses.
In general, immune mediated disorders are difficult to treat. Often, broad-acting medication is applied, such as treatment with corticosteroids or any other broad acting anti-inflammatory agent that in many aspects may be detrimental to a treated individual.
In general there is a need for better and more specific possibilities to regulate the checks and balances of the immune system and treat immune mediated disorders.